New Delhi: TMC Rajya Sabha Leader Derek O'Brien claimed on Monday that the BJD is "unofficially" with the BJP, suggesting that reaching out to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik could be difficult.
Patnaik missed the May 27 NITI Aayog conference in New Delhi and the May 28 inauguration of the new Parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he is known for walking a fine line between the BJP and the opposition parties.
To distance himself from the decision of the non-BJP parties to boycott the inauguration, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chairman sent a delegation of 21 party MPs to the function.—Inputs from Agencies